Los Angeles jury convicts Harvey Weinstein on 3 rape, sexual assault charges

A jury in Los Angeles on Monday found disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein guilty of raping and sexually assaulting an Italian actress and model, acquitted him of one sexual battery charge from a massage therapist, and deadlocked on three more sexual assault charges from two other women.
Weinstein, 70, is already two years into a 23-year rape and sexual assault sentence in New York. The Los Angeles verdict, reached after a monthlong trial and nine days of jury deliberation, will likely add decades to his incarceration.
The Italian actress, identified as Jane Doe 1, said she hopes "Weinstein never sees the outside of a prison cell during his lifetime," and she is likely to get her wish. "Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013 and I will never get that back," she said. "The criminal trial was brutal and Weinstein's lawyers put me through hell on the witness stand, but I knew I had to see this through to the end, and I did."
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The jury deadlocked 8-4 on rape and sexual assault charges from filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Her testimony about Weinstein raping her at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005 was one of the trial's most dramatic moments.
"Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman" and "will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs," Siebel Newsom said in a statement. "Throughout the trial, Weinstein's lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors. The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do."
Weinstein pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers claimed two of the women — including the Italian actress — were lying about their encounters with Weinstein, and Siibel Newsom and fellow witness Lauren Young had recast consensual sex with him after Weinstein became a pariah in the #MeToo movement. If Siebel Newsom hadn't gotten famous afterward, she would be "just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead in Hollywood," his lawyers said. "Regret is not the same thing as rape."
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón applauded the accusers for testifying against Weinstein and said he hopes the verdict, while a mixed bag for prosecutors, brings "some measure of justice to the victims."
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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